Meloni’s Backstabbing Coalition Brings the Drama Back to Italy’s Politics

Meloni’s Backstabbing Coalition Brings the Drama Back to Italy’s Politics
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni attends a debate at the Senate ahead of a confidence vote for her new government, in Rome, Italy, Oct. 26, 2022 (AP photo by Andrew Medichini).

To portray the political and economic chaos that gripped the United Kingdom last week as yet another prime minister crashed and burned, the British magazine The Economist branded the country “Britaly.” The portmanteau told the story, likening Britain to Italy, Europe’s legendarily dysfunctional political spectacle.

Italy’s perennial melodrama was suspended for 20 months when Mario Draghi, the sober former head of the European Central Bank, was named to lead a technocratic government of national unity in February 2021. That briefly brought a sense of competence and stability to Italian politics. But, however much Italians complained about the stereotype embedded in The Economist’s moniker for Britain, the country has now returned to form. The Draghi era has been confirmed as having been merely an interlude.

Following the recent elections in which the far right emerged victorious, the political sideshow is back on in Rome, and it is sure to become more destabilizing in the months to come.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.